This is the best independent film of 2020. This is the best movie of 2020.

Marcel 2021-12-03 08:01:42

For most people, Zhao Ting is just the daughter of Song Dandan's current husband and the Step Daughter of Aunt Baiyun.

However, this female director of Chinese descent who is not yet in her forties won the Venice Golden Lion Award for her third feature film "Nomadland". When the good news came, it was about 3 hours before the film was broadcast on the online platform of TIFF 2020.

As a Northeastern, as a Northeastern who lives in North America, and as a Northeastern who lives in North America and has close contact with RV Vanlife, "Nomadland" has moved me threefold.

The first floor is derived from the last sigh of the old industrial zone. At the moment the building collapsed, Nevada and the three provinces of the East were in sympathy. The town named "Empire" faced the loss of the industrial empire and was laid off collectively. Group unemployment, individual disqualification, how does Mai Sao think of home.

On the second level, as a friend said after watching, the director did not play the "Asian" card. This means that Zhao Ting is a fair and upright Fair Play. With mature director skills and audio-visual language, she got this golden lion. Among Asian creators who rely on the North American film and television industry system, this is already rare. Wang Ziyi's "Farewell" did not do it, nor did Wang Ying's "Coming Home Again", not to mention "Crazy Rich Asians". You say "Mulan"? Please leave consciously.

The third layer is my biggest surprise in the movie. In order to ensure that the ears and eyes are new, I did not do any background information research. After the RV scene appeared, I almost jumped up from the sofa. Living in a RV is the use of narrow space and the embarrassment of living conditions in exchange for the freedom to get close to the wonders of nature and live in the heart of the world. I am very kind and familiar with this. Because I watched a lot of videos of RV Vanlife bloggers on YouTube last year, my yearning for this kind of life has also been put into practice to a very shallow level.

However, those Vanlife YouTubers, and some of their friends who have tried this way of life, are by no means the same as the Nomad nomads in "Nomadland". It can be said that buying RVs and refitting Camper Van is a middle-class consumer taste for most people. It is a leisure means to get rid of the hustle and bustle of the city on long weekends. It is an alternative to long-distance travel boats and cars. It is to enjoy the fun and sense of accomplishment of DIY modification. . This is of course very beautiful, which is why it deeply attracted me.

But these Nomads in the film are truly "Houseless". Settling down in the car is not a choice, but helplessness. In order to rationalize their behavior, Christmas Bob gave a series of rhetoric to criticize capitalist exploitation. This group of friends on the road depend on each other, but friendship cannot support the family. Family divergence and love spread. No one understands and does not need others to understand. Mai's old Van is her home, but she can only be accommodated here.

The film is certainly not without flaws. For example, some "deliberately made" soundtracks, some Steadicam shots are too smooth and slightly abrupt, and some craftsmanship in the play. The flaws are not concealed, Zhao Ting’s sophisticated director skills, documentary lens language, patchy editing rhythm, dumb black humor, Mai Sao’s impeccable performance, a large number of natural non-professional actors, the magnificent scenery of the Midwestern United States...

This is the best independent film of 2020. This is the best movie of 2020.

View more about Nomadland reviews

Extended Reading
  • Oliver 2022-03-25 09:01:08

    Speaking of the bottom, the bottom is the bottom. Who sees you as a poor person? It's so fragmented. Wouldn't it be better to talk about a movie with a story like Kenlodge?

  • Rashawn 2022-03-25 09:01:08

    I give five stars because of my condition. Recently, a lot of confusion about life has been gently presented and answered in the movie. The natural romance of the world, the loneliness of life, and the powerlessness of reality are intertwined, and tears are inexplicable in many moments. I don't know where I should go, I miss the encounters on the road, I am afraid but inevitably yearn for a kind of stability, but I still can't stop. The form and content fit very well, and the sense of fragmentation and flow is very moving. love it. The first thing I did after watching it was to register for the learner's permit test. Before summer comes, I have to get a driver's license!

Nomadland quotes

  • Fern: I've been thinking a lot about my husband, Bo. When it got really bad at the end, they had him in the hospital on morphine drippin'. I was sitting there at night in the hospital. And... I'd wanna put my thumb down on that morphine drip just a little bit longer. So I could let him go. Maybe I should've tried harder. So he could've gone sooner without all that pain.

    Swankie: Maybe he wouldn't have wanted that. Maybe he was trying to stay with you as long as he could. I'm sure you took good care of him, Fern.

    Fern: I did.

  • Carol: I see that you have this ring. Are you married?

    Fern: I am, but my husband died.

    Carol: And so...

    Fern: I'm not gonna take that off.

    Carol: That ring is a circle and it never ends. And that means that your love never ends. And you may not be able to take it off, if you tried.

    Fern: I don't think I can.